How I Witnessed Sarah Palin’s Fuming Anti-Abortion Fanatics

The following is an excerpt of an article I published after attending a Sarah Palin rally in Southern California where I witnessed reinvigorated anti-abortion fanatics spurred on by Palin’s inflammatory rhetoric. At that time, as evidenced by the text of my earlier article (below), it was clear to me that a similar threat of domestic terrorism to that inflicted on this nation by convicted anti-abortion murderer Eric Rudolph, was probable and undeterred by Sarah Palin — the latest charismatic leader in the anti-abortion movement.

With the heinous and unforgivable murder of Kansas physician, Dr. George Tiller, my frightening premonition has come to pass. These domestic terrorists must be stopped!! As should media terrorist, Bill O’Reilly, who used his Fox bully pulpit and THE PEOPLE’S airwaves to publicly target Dr. Tiller. Today Bill O’Reilly shares the burden of guilt for the demise of this long victimized, now murdered, medical professional.

Excerpt:

On October 4, 2008, I went to Carson, California, to attend a rally for Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. The rally was held at the Home Depot ADT Tennis Stadium. Because of Mrs. Palin’s sudden popularity and the easy access to free tickets, all 20,000 stadium seats, plus an overflow area, were filled.

Case in point, I went to this event for a specific reason, which was not to see Sarah Palin. I went to see the Palinettes, the supporters of this unspectacular woman, who had so readily been won over. I wanted to meet them and speak with them and understand their attachment to this lowest common denominator politician.

What I witnessed at that event was thoroughly alarming. Among this enraptured crowd of 20,000 was a frightening mix of Christian zealots, anti-abortion fanatics, and mostly white suburban women and men reconnecting with their high school mentality. Bright colored pom-poms were everywhere – as if Sarah Palin were head cheerleader, the women were on her squad, and the men were the football heroes. Sarah Palin, the quintessential 4ever-school-girl had revitalized their youth and saved them from adulthood.

Palin’s peevishness is appalling, but it pales in comparison to the dangerous ideology that she and her followers share. By unleashing Sarah Palin, John McCain has reinvigorated the anti-choice/anti-woman/anti-reproductive rights fanatics, who not long ago were at the forefront of domestic terror. Interesting that Palin insinuates Obama when referring to: “terrorists who would target their own country” when it’s those who share her ideology who have committed heinous domestic crimes.

Let us not forget the health-care workers who were murdered by anti-choice radicals who share Palin’s no exceptions for abortion beliefs. Let us not forget the women and family clinics that were bombed. Let us not forget Eric Rudolph – the anti-abortion terrorist who killed two people and injured 100 others during the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. The same Eric Rudolph who bombed abortion clinics that killed even more people. The same Eric Rudolph who sadistically attacked a gay bar. Let us not forget that the Sarah Palin wing of anti-choice fanaticism victimized America for years, committing crime after heinous crime. What John McCain has unleashed on America with his choice of Sarah Palin is an outright invitation to these cults to wreak havoc all over again.

On October 4th I got a taste of this anti-choice fanaticism as Palin’s zealots shouted “baby killers” at the pro-Obama activists outside. I saw it first hand with the anti-choice tirades looped again and again by one Palin follower after another. This is their mission – their single issue cause – and Sarah Palin has given it life. With the economy spiraling downward, the world at war, the planet over-heating, and continents dying from famine and disease, Sarah Palin’s followers are driven by one primary issue – the total end of abortion.

Yes, the total end of abortion by any possible means!

Acknowledgement: Thanks to my friend Brad Friedman of Bradblog for his early alert of Bill O’Reilly’s media harassment of Dr. Tiller.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LA Progressive, its publisher, editor or any of its other contributors.

About Linda Milazzo

Linda Milazzo is a Los Angeles based participatory journalist and educator. Since 1974, she has divided her time between the entertainment industry, government organizations, community development projects and educational programs.

Linda began her writing career in advertising and promotions. From 1976 to 1989, she operated an independent public relations service providing specialty writing for individual and corporate clients. A socio-political activist since the Vietnam war, Linda has focused on political writing since 2002. Her essays, letters and commentaries have appeared in domestic and international journals, newspapers and magazines. She's an educator and creator of a writers' program she's taught privately and in public schools.

Linda has facilitated an advocacy writing workshop and has developed an advocacy writing program for implementation in public and private educational institutions and in community based organizations. She's a regular contributor to numerous high profile and highly respected news and opinion websites.

Comments

Thanks for reposting your astute article. I find the escalation in “baby killer” rhetoric quite scary. I run a website exposing Sarah Palin’s extremist views when it comes to wildlife management in Alaska. http://www.grizzlybay.org/SarahPalinInfoPage.htm

Although the website isn’t about abortion, I found that most people sending me hate email call me a “baby killer”. I believe that “baby killer” (as well as “socialist”) has been successfully fused with “liberal” in the minds of Palin zealots. It became quite clear to me that being an environmentalist who supports conservation means you are a baby killer in the minds of most Palin supporters.

There is also a very high level of violent threats in most of my hate email. Most Palin supporters refer to us as “baby killing, tree hugging, socialist maggots” and then describe the slow, painful, violent death that I deserve. Every day of the campaign we deleted email after email telling us how we should suffer and die, be barbecued, be skinned alive, etc…

Palin not only reignited violent pro-lifers but hammered home the idea that to be an Obama supporter means you are a baby killer and hence a justifiable target for violence. When liberal means baby killer and Palin supporters believe baby killers deserve to die then an escalation in violence against not only abortion providers – but liberals in general – is inevitable. How can this be anything other than hate crime and domestic terrorism? I fear there is much more violence to come since most Palin supporters are also gun fanatics.
(here’s my comment without the format error…)

Thanks for reposting your astute article. I find the escalation in “baby killer” rhetoric quite scary. I run a website exposing Sarah Palin’s extremist views when it comes to wildlife management in Alaska .

Although the website isn’t about abortion, I found that most people sending me hate email call me a “baby killer”. I believe that “baby killer” (as well as “socialist”) has been successfully fused with “liberal” in the minds of Palin zealots. It became quite clear to me that being an environmentalist who supports conservation means you are a baby killer in the minds of most Palin supporters.

There is also a very high level of violent threats in most of my hate email. Most Palin supporters refer to us as “baby killing, tree hugging, socialist maggots” and then describe the slow, painful, violent death that we deserve. We delete email after email telling us how we should suffer and die, be barbecued, be skinned alive, be shot, etc…

Palin not only reignited violent pro-lifers but hammered home the idea that to be an Obama supporter means you are a baby killer and hence a justifiable target for violence. When liberal means baby killer and Palin supporters believe baby killers deserve to die then an escalation in violence against not only abortion providers – but liberals in general – is inevitable. How can this be anything other than hate crime and domestic terrorism? I fear there is much more violence to come since most Palin supporters are also gun fanatics.

Progressive Issues

Rosemary Joyce: Archaeology has a checkered history of exploitation by totalitarian regimes. Treating the question of what materials from the past should be preserved, studied, and thus valorized, as politically neutral is part of the reason for that history.